Yes! I knew I wasn't going crazy, got an update out of no where and the controls felt a lot snappier.
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So I finally watched the Gamescom stream and turns out it was incredibly mediocre.
That's not to take from the presenters, especially Parris he was great as usual. It was the content that was lacking. No cool GP announces either. Nothing that stood out anyway.
I suppose only highlight for me was the dying light update.
Ah well.. Roll on Game Awards and XO21.
That's not to take from the presenters, especially Parris he was great as usual. It was the content that was lacking. No cool GP announces either. Nothing that stood out anyway.
I suppose only highlight for me was the dying light update.
Ah well.. Roll on Game Awards and XO21.
I was unpleasantly surprised by this show at Gamescom. I knew that there would be no announcements of new games. But I expected that they would show Halo with a release date, Skyrim for Xbox Series X|S, announce some big game for Game Pass and at least some announcement on backward compatibility. I think it's better not to arrange a show at all if they are not ready to show interesting content to players. And why did they decide to show Halo on ONL if they had their own show? Microsoft needs to plan such shows better if they don't want to get a negative reaction from the players. If I knew what kind of show I would spend my time on, I would rather play on the Xbox.
We know the show was recorded in the last ~3 weeks. They probably didn't have a definitive release date at the time of production.
Gamescom Opening Night Live is actually presented live, which makes it much easier to have it in the show later on today.
Honestly I feel Microsoft should've looked at that list of announcements on paper and veto'd an event.
Individually those announcements would've received a positive reaction as Xbox Wire news stories, everyone loves expansions or new gameplay footage, but as a collective it just didn't have the news-value or importance to support a dedicated Xbox Showcase event. Less is more sometimes, Microsoft don't need to force it for the sake of it. I can't think of many people who came away from that show and thought it was worth the time investment.
Continued kudos for using the likes of Parris though, he was superb.
Individually those announcements would've received a positive reaction as Xbox Wire news stories, everyone loves expansions or new gameplay footage, but as a collective it just didn't have the news-value or importance to support a dedicated Xbox Showcase event. Less is more sometimes, Microsoft don't need to force it for the sake of it. I can't think of many people who came away from that show and thought it was worth the time investment.
Continued kudos for using the likes of Parris though, he was superb.
Knowing that Paradox and Humble Games are Day One Game Pass publishers is very cool to see. My biggest take away from the event.
Any event where after I can walk away now knowing about some new games I want to play isnt so bad. There was some awesome looking games from Humble.
Honestly my expectations were just a follow up to the E3 extended showcase and that's essentially what it was.
I understand the disappointment, but for me it was exactly what I thought it was going to be.
Congrats to Parris on another job well done!
Any event where after I can walk away now knowing about some new games I want to play isnt so bad. There was some awesome looking games from Humble.
Honestly my expectations were just a follow up to the E3 extended showcase and that's essentially what it was.
I understand the disappointment, but for me it was exactly what I thought it was going to be.
Congrats to Parris on another job well done!
It was never going to be E3 levels in terms of trailers and reveals from the big games coming in the next 2 or 3 years.
I think these events are worth the effort solely due to the fact that it gives the men and women from Xbox's first party studios the time they would never be afforded at an E3 event, for example, to speak about what they've been working hard on.
Microsoft bought all these studios so you have to show them the respect to showcase all the work they have been doing. Just because it wasn't Fable, Perfect Dark or Starfield doesn't mean that Microsoft should demote the announcements to blog posts. They have to be fair to every studio they own.
Psychonaughts 2 is a God damn triumph in design. Literally a masterpiece. I just bought it, definitely something I need to own.
You can feel that first party polish, I'm just thinking what DF are going to achieve in the future now Tim is 100% back to making games, and be relieved of that financial burden from his shoulders. Cannot be more excited to see what we get next from them.
You can feel that first party polish, I'm just thinking what DF are going to achieve in the future now Tim is 100% back to making games, and be relieved of that financial burden from his shoulders. Cannot be more excited to see what we get next from them.
Sure, but is it fair to show all of their C-Tier announcements in one show, at an event that would traditionally raise higher expectations? Nobody is saying that Gamescom's Showcase had to be E3's, and historically that has never been the case. But yesterday's event was a Frankenstein collection of announcements that clearly wouldn't have a hope of being included in a bigger event, with perhaps the exception of the Humble bundle and xCloud announcement.
I think it's all about balance and knowing your audience. All that show needed was one or two of the announcements that you know fans are excited for, to stand up the stuff that is perhaps less interesting. A new snippet of Halo gameplay, a developer diary for Hellblade. Anything really that isn't expansion packs or trailers for games that are releasing in six hours time.
Microsoft need a clear delineation between a Showcase event and something smaller in scale and expectation. Or they need to back these showcases with announcements or reveals of a certain size. Yesterday's show didn't improve the announcements within, it detracted from them. Competitive PVP in Flight Sim is a fucking good Xbox Wire announcement, it didn't really fly in yesterday's show (excuse the pun).
That's the thing - on his show there are some big things. Everything else is not good there, but at least there are some megatons or big game showings.
I'm playing through Psychonauts 1 (Series X).
The black bars on the side aren't fully black, so the pixels don't turn off completely on my LG CX. Anyone know if there's a way to fix that, or if that's just a game issue?
The black bars on the side aren't fully black, so the pixels don't turn off completely on my LG CX. Anyone know if there's a way to fix that, or if that's just a game issue?
Yeah, and it shouldn't be surprising by now. The moment Forza Horizon's release date on the 9th was announced, I started really doubting a November release date for Halo, regardless of the anniversary.
Skipping 20th CE Anniversary, Black Friday and Game Awards at the same time makes me nervous tho.
They're basically trying to not delaying it again working until last minute...
I'm less concerned about TGA or Black Friday (particularly as Series consoles will be in demand anyway and most people will play Halo via Game Pass), but not hitting the 20th Anniversary date is a big miss, for sure. Given that it's a difference of 18 days or so makes me think the game really is coming in hot, with every possible extra hour of development time being squeezed.
At this point I know the multiplayer is a hit. I have to say I am somewhat concerned about that campaign, and the lack of Co-Op or the Reddit leak didn't help.
Yeah, surely worrying signs for Halo if they're trying to push it to the latest date possible. Thankfully for me, Forza Horizon is my favorite franchise and this gives them more limelight.
Yup. Studios rarely want to release a huge game two weeks after Black Friday. Like, back in January, I really doubt they were like "December 8, that's the date!"
It's a little concerning. If it's coming in that hot I'd almost rather they delay the campaign to Q1, and I wasn't really on board with that idea after the whole co-op thing.
It doesn't seem like they really have anything exclusive-wise lined up for Q1 anyway. Given the reaction to the co-op news I wouldn't be surprised if they end up just pushing it. They're already missing a big chunk of the holiday sales season anyway.
(Also it's a little weird that Microsoft's releases are all over the place in terms of day of the week. Some Tuesday, some Wednesday, some Thursday, some Friday.)
I can see them releasing the multiplayer in November and then the Campaign in December.
That way they should get high scores for the multiplayer which should build hype and show Halo in a good light. Then when the campaign comes out, if it's a flop it won't be too damaging.
That way they should get high scores for the multiplayer which should build hype and show Halo in a good light. Then when the campaign comes out, if it's a flop it won't be too damaging.
It's so damn good. I just got to the Mother Lobe. This is peak Double Fine. Their acquisition always felt like it got lost in the shuffle with all the other multi-studio announcements (2018 Five, Obsidian/inXile, Bethesda Softworks). Double Fine is going to be one of Xbox's best if this is the quality we can expect from them.
I think there is value in having a Halo game (Campaign & multiplayer) available ahead of Christmas Day. I'd imagine a lot of younger players will be getting next-gen consoles for Christmas, and it's a big draw to have that title available in addition to your COD's and FIFA's of this world. I understand it, even if it's unorthodox.
Shit, the Campaign is coming in real hot.
Not only that but still no campaign gameplay and we're this close to launch.
It genuinely would not surprise me if they announce the date today at ONL and then like a month later delay the game/Campaign until Spring 2022.
Not only that but still no campaign gameplay and we're this close to launch.
It genuinely would not surprise me if they announce the date today at ONL and then like a month later delay the game/Campaign until Spring 2022.
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What a shame.
I really really hope someone like Schreier does a huge piece on what happened during this game's development.
I know I'm becoming an old man because I'm starting to see this forum and thread as one big, nonstop, whine-fest. LOL
It's not our fault we format our dates the way we play football; the REAL way. 😜
I have a habit of writing dates like this: XX December, 2021.
Because I don't want anyone confused about US format shenanigans.
thats not...... a date that instills confidence in ones product to me. If your a system seller, why have the date so late? Its releasing after the cutoff for the game awards (which would be a major boon in marketing) and late enough in the month where your not really capturing early holiday shoppers with a series console Halo bundle.
Really weird decision if it ends up being the actual date
They basically decided to crunch until the last minute for a 2021 release with no further delays (except Campaign Co-Op and Forge).
Not a great sign of confidence for me either.
I dont see a problem with a December 8 release in comparison to a November 15-16. The game releases when it releases. I dont understand how a 3 week period has people so shook lol. We all know the game has had massive development issues, a November release doesnt change any of that.
The biggest factor facing this game at launch is going to be server stability. If on launch day the servers are broken that'll be a massive problem. 343i needs to start running flights open to everyone soon.
The biggest factor facing this game at launch is going to be server stability. If on launch day the servers are broken that'll be a massive problem. 343i needs to start running flights open to everyone soon.
Is the date that bad? Smash on Switch released December 7.
Campaign has been ruined for me already with lack of coop, but if this means I now have to wait this long for the multiplayer now my Halo hype has just been obliterated in a span of a week.
Exactly lol.
People are losing their minds because it misses Black Friday. Dying Light 2 is doing Dec 7 and I dont see anyone talking about that as if its doomed.
The people at Xbox know the digital to physical ratio, missing out on Black Friday probably isnt a big deal at this point for Xbox games.
This release date is what I wanted and said as much in this thread. The consternation its causing some of you is sad. I dont personally think this means anything about the quality of the campaign and given Horizon 5, early Dec makes sense to me but we'll see.
I always thought the idea of the Black Friday day being a cut-off was mostly a non-issue. Infinite is trying some risky things with its release like F2P multiplayer, mising BF is such a small thing in comparison.
I always thought the idea of the Black Friday day being a cut-off was mostly a non-issue. Infinite is trying some risky things with its release like F2P multiplayer, mising BF is such a small thing in comparison.
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If the campaign is polished to perfection, just release it even without co-op, but if they already can feel it won't be ready, it would be better to delay to polish it further and get co-op ready. The campaign only gets one chance to make a good impression.
the date itself is not actually a bad date but when included in the context of all the hurdles infinites development seems to have had, it's not a great look. The game got a year + delay and still is launching with missing content (not that big of a deal for more but is a factor). They have shown very little outside of multiplayer (again understandable but is a factor), and MS is willing to miss the potential marketing bump the GAs can give the game and gp.
idk, from an outside perspective, everything tells me MS is not confident Halo is going to be THE game for Xbox this year. I think they shifted their bet to Forza given how much they are showing and how well it is being received. It's a smart move by MS to pivot to the game that is showing well and does not appear to be having development issues.
However, as a Halo fan, it sucks cause Halo should be the game for them this year. It has broader appeal purely by being a shooter and potentially has a higher likelihood of moving consoles for those looking. Pushing the date to after the marketing boon potential of the GAs and then into the end of the 1st 3rd of December (after black Friday) just seems like a way to push Halo to the side and not make it a focus for the Holiday Xbox and gp push. Early shoppers will have already gotten the products and Halo not being out during the entire shopping window has no positives for them.
The fact that they have a release date is definitely worrying to me. They should be confident enough to shadow drop Halo without ever giving us a release date.
I just want the game to release. All this posturing about dates and what they mean is very tiring. The game is coming out this year, play the game and then determine whether the game is good or not. If its good then people will buy it/try it, if not then they won't.
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